Augmented reality could become an instrument to restore the image of the world after Covid-19 pandemic. The developers of Augmented.City have created a complex platform to make accurate AR-layers, and believe it will play an important role in the restoration of economies.
The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected a number of businesses, including tourism and hospitality industry. Due to the spread of Covid-19, many restaurants and cafes have closed or changed owners; travel companies and other tourist services have ceased to operated.
A new image of the world will be quickly shaped after the pandemic. The creators of Augmented.City claim that it’s time for augmented reality to step in.
“People are used to finding objects with detailed descriptions using the help of interactive maps in Google or Apple applications. However, AR allows not only the rapid update of information about objects, but also makes finding them a lot easier without any issues due to outdated data. The Augmented.City platform uses technology for precise pairing of objects with relevant data. The user of a device supporting AR technology can easily identify its environment, regardless of the designations and the time of the last update of popular maps. Augmented.City platform is a comprehensive solution aimed to assist both business and regular users in navigating through new conditions” – says Nicola Bonerba, one of the Co-Founders and the civil construction engineer in Apuglia.
Augmented.City is the platform established by an Italian technology startup. It consists of three key modules: a free SDK for developers of various solutions with AR support, and mobile applications for scanning the surrounding and displaying AR objects.
Users of mobile applications can scan an object and create augmented reality layers adding their favorite restaurants, cafes, attractions or any other places to AR. The scanner allows everyone to take part in updating information on the maps. A modern smartphone and a little bit of time is all that’s needed to transfer objects and places to augmented reality. Business owners can easily transfer their own offices or customer service points to AR.
Anyone can take the advantage of AR with the Augmented.City app that displays the digital layer. It can be downloaded from Google Play and Apple App Store for all types of AR devices. The application also enables its users to view additional information such as ratings of hotels or restaurants along with visitor reviews and recommendations. The cost of real estate available for rent or sale can also be displayed. All it takes is just to point an AR device at an object, and the additional information from AR layer will immediately be displayed.
Developers plan to expand capabilities of the platform in the near future. For example, information boards and the users will be able to put up direction signs in AR, for instance at train stations or streets. Social information will appear on the virtual walls of various buildings. The creators say that such walls will become a perfect example of freedom of speech and expression.
Augmented.City developers claim that augmented reality technology will expand and become mainstream in the near future. Apple is getting ready to announce glasses, which will help to read the data from AR-layers at a glance. Nowadays, this technology is already implemented in Google and Apple smartphones, so AR could potentially become a key for restoring businesses in the field of tourism and related services, as well as in the real estate sector.
